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The PPOA board meeting on April 10th was a momentous one for leadership of this union. Retiree representative Art Reddy announced his resignation from the board — a decision that did not come easy for the retired sergeant who has served as a dedicated ​board member for nearly 30 years. Nobody in PPOA’s 68-year history has committed more time as a board member. Art was first elected to the board in 1979 as a deputy. He was re-elected term after term as a deputy, then sergeant, then retired member. His institutional knowledge of PPOA is unmatched and invaluable. We are extremely grateful that Art has agreed to continue providing his input to PPOA on a number of issues to help this association continue to make a difference for active and retired personnel. Thank you Art!

Following Art’s resignation, the PPOA board appointed newly-retired Sergeant Jim Schallert to fill the remainder of Art’s term. We look forward to working with Jim to advocate on behalf of 2,500+ retired PPOA members. Thank you Jim!

Schallert’s retirement created a vacancy for the position of PPOA vice president. The board voted unanimously to swear in Lieutenant Tab Rhodes to that position. Tab has served as a PPOA board member since 2011 and looks forward to his new role on the executive board. Thank you Tab!

The PPOA board also had an opportunity to thank Chief Patrick Jordan for his years of service as a board member. Jordan resigned from the board following his recent promotion and PPOA directors gratefully presented him with a plaque at Wednesday’s board meeting to honor his commitment to fellow union members. Thank you Pat!​

PPOA is proud to continue the annual tradition of issuing reimbursements up to $100 for members who attend the 2019 California Peace Officer Memorial Ceremony on May 6th in Sacramento and up to $250 for members who attend the 2019 National Peace Officer Memorial Ceremony on May 15th in Washington DC. All members are strongly encouraged to attend these worthwhile events to honor fallen officers. Reimbursement eligibility is limited to the first 20 full dues-paying, active PPOA members (per ceremony) who call PPOA to register at (800) 747-PPOA. Following the event(s), each eligible member must submit receipts for hotel and travel expenses to PPOA for reimbursement.

Have you purchased insurance through the PPOA Insurance Agency? Did you notice a new deduction on your paycheck under the code “SFA” that you did not authorize? Did a CRC representative call or contact you about moving your payroll deduction away from PPOA? If so, you must read the following and complete our online form as soon as possible to protect yourself!

Late last year, PPOA fired insurance brokerage firm “CRC”, their managing agent Mike Slade and their sales team. “CRC and Mike Slade simply did not meet our high standards” states PPOA President Brian Moriguchi. “PPOA members expect ethical and honest treatment from anyone representing PPOA and this group simply did not meet our standards.” This week, we learned CRC instructed the Stentorians (payroll code SFA) to deduct money from PPOA insurance customers without getting the required permission from the individual employees! This resulted in some employees being double deducted! PPOA immediately contacted the County and asked them to investigate. The County has advised us that the Stentorians will be required to pay all the money back to our members that was deducted without authorization.

To ensure the Stentorians, CRC and Mike Slade cannot do this again and to ensure your insurance stays with PPOA, we have created an online form for any county employee who purchased insurance through the PPOA Insurance Agency. Please complete the online form which will take only a minute. PPOA will then forward these documents to the Stentorians, CRC, and Mike Slade as well as to the County of Los Angeles to protect the employees’ rights and to ensure the employees can continue to benefit from PPOA’s high level of service and backing for the insurance products purchased through PPOA.

The following year-end dues totals are provided to aid PPOA members with tax preparation. If you were not a PPOA member for the entire 2017 calendar year, please contact Clare at (323) 261-3010. Political contributions are not deductible for income tax purposes, and 10 percent of PPOA dues are used for political contributions.

On November 19th, PPOA received the devastating news that Custody Assistant Anthony Thompson Jr. was killed in a traffic collision early that morning. Thompson, son of LASD Sergeant Ottawa Cureton, was driving southbound on the 605 freeway in Irwindale at approximately 12:30AM when a woman believed to have been under the influence of alcohol or drugs drove up the southbound off-ramp and entered the freeway in the wrong direction. The woman drove into oncoming traffic and collided head-on with Thompson’s vehicle. Both drivers died at the scene and Thompson’s passenger was hospitalized with severe injuries.

“I spoke to Anthony’s mother, Ottawa, today. Needless to say, she is heartbroken,” said PPOA President Brian Moriguchi. “But she is extremely grateful for the outpouring of support from the LASD family and Anthony’s co-workers.”

Custody Assistant Anthony Thompson Jr. was assigned to Twin Towers. He was 24 years old and started his career with the Sheriff’s Department in 2012. Please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers.

PPOA legislative representatives are keeping close watch on three public employee pension cases currently before the California Supreme Court. All three cases are appeals related to the Public Employee Pension Reform Act (PEPRA), which took effect in 2013. PEPRA is already a complex law that generates many questions and these three cases could potentially affect the way retirement and health benefits are applied. Here is an update from PPOA Legislative Representative Karen Keeslar:

October 31, 2017: There are three PEPRA cases before the California Supreme Court. The Alameda case has been merged with the Marin litigation. These cases deal with the “California rule.” The CA Supreme Court has also accepted the Cal Fire case. All of these cases are still in the briefing stage and oral arguments haven’t been scheduled yet. The state has a deadline to file its brief on November 6th, although they could request another extension (there have been several) and the reply brief is due November 27th. Then amicus briefs would be due 30 days later on December 27th. Those dates can be pushed out by any extensions granted to the parties to file their briefs. The CA Supreme Court hears oral arguments from September through June. Generally speaking, the court must issue a decision within 90 days of oral arguments.

The Appellate Court decisions in all three cases contradict 70 years of case law on the “California Rule.” The CA Supreme Court has repeatedly affirmed the “California Rule” protecting pensions and maintaining they are a vested right. There is broad speculation that the decisions on these cases could open the door to overturning numerous Supreme Court decisions upholding the vested rights of public employees to retirement benefits. If the Supreme Court upholds the Appellate Court ruling that pensions only need be “reasonable,” we are certain to see much more litigation for each agency to determine what is reasonable. That makes it difficult to speculate what might happen to pensions for LA County employees. PPOA will continue to monitor these cases and will keep members informed of any developments.

PPOA’s new Executive Director Wayne Quint joined the coalition of cops and prosecutors speaking on the steps of the state capitol on October 30th to advocate for a proposed initiative that would reverse specific elements of Prop 47 while adding 15 crimes to the list of violent crimes without possibility of early release.

PPOA President Brian Moriguchi has been appointed to the newly-formed Los Angeles County Blue Ribbon Commission on Public Safety. The establishment of this commission was prompted by the murder of Whittier Police Department Officer Keith Boyer at the hands of a recently paroled gang member.

Moriguchi was appointed by County Supervisor Janice Hahn. “Lt. Moriguchi will bring the important perspective of law enforcement to the Blue Ribbon Commission,” Hahn said. “His years of personal experience give him the ability to discern what will work and what won’t while the commission examines creative solutions to keep our communities and our law enforcement officers safe.”

The 27-member panel will review categories of violent crime that are eligible for parole and look at policies that allow probation to be revoked. It will also be tasked with tracking “very high risk” probationers, misdemeanor offenders with the highest recidivism rates and the rate of re-offense for everyone released under recent reform laws. Those reforms are Assembly Bill 109, passed in 2011; Proposition 47, passed in 2014; and Proposition 57, approved in 2016 but not yet fully implemented. Those measures shifted public safety responsibilities from the state to counties, downgraded some property and drug felonies to misdemeanors, and allowed for the early release of some inmates, respectively.